Book-lock



UNITED STATES ATENE oEEioE.

J4, s. HQARD' AND v, o. SPENCER, or MANSFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA.

Doon-1.00K.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 22,872, dated February 8, 1859.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOSEPH S. HoAnD and VALoRUs O. SPENCER, of Mansfield, in the county of Tioga and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Locks, the construction and operation of which we have described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings with sufficient clearness to enable competent and skilful workmen in the arts to which it pertains or is most nearly allied to make and use our invention. f y

Our said invention relates to the security of locks, when locked upon one side of the door, from heilig opened from theother.

It is well known to those conversant with locks that the common door lock is considered very little security against the entrance of burglars. Those locks are not generally very unpickable, and if the key is left in the door, it is very often turned with a peculiar kind of forceps, known to the police as an outsider. Various devices have been contrived to render those locks secure, among which may be mentioned fastenings designed to hold the key upon the inside in a fixed position, such as it was supposed would preventthe picking of the lock. These devices above alluded to, though improvements in their way, do not by any means possess the absolute security attained by our invention.

Our said invention consists in, first, the combined construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, by which the key is made to operate as a detent to prevent the withdrawal of a plate which, by the action of the key in locking the door from the inside, is shot over the outer key hole as set forth; second, the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, by which, when the door is locked, the key is made to operate as a detent to prevent the return of the bolt; third, the combination of the key with a ledge and stop as described and shown by which the key is prevented from being turned in locking the door beyond the position in which it will operate as a detent as set forth.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is an outside elevation of the lock (a mortise lock) with a piece of the door in which it is placed, represented in section. Fig. 2 is also an elevation, showing that side of the lock, which is upon the inside of the door. Fig.

i 3 is a sectional elevation showing the parts back of the line X X as drawn across Fig. 5. In this view, the lock is represented as being locked from the insid-e, and the key resting in position Aas it would be when so locked. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, the plate which forms one of the sides being removed to sho-w` the interior of the lock. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section, showing the parts below the center of the stem of the key.

A is the door in which the lock is supposed to be placed. B (F ig. 2) is the casing or jamb, against which it shuts and to-which itis locked.

D is the casing of the lock, E, is bolt, and F are the tumblers.

G is the key.

H is the guard plate, by whichthe outer key hole is closed, when the door is locked upon the inside of the room. This plate is made of steel and hardened so as to be drill proof; a'nd is kept out against the side of the lock casing by a spring a. A thin narrow plate of metal b, and the stud CZ, form a guide to keep the plate H from rising up-A ward out of place. Immediately opposite each key hole, there is a socket attached to the side plate opposite the one through which said key hole is made to support the end of the key. l

The plate H, is slotted to admit the socket e which is on the outer plate of the casing, the` slot being sufhciently long to allow the plate H, to slide the required distance. When t-he lock is unlocked, and the key withdrawn, this plate is in such a position as to leave the key hole from the outside open, the key may then be inserted from either side and the lock operated. If inserted from the inner side, it enters between two ledges f and g, and its first operation as it is turned to shoot the bolt, and before it operates upon either the bolt or the tumblers, is to slide back the plate H, and cover the outer key hole. Its continued rotation brings it in contact with the tumblers F and then with the bolt, which last isthrown forward by its action. Just before the key comes in contact with the tumblers a notch in it strides the circular ledge 7L, and continues upon it as the key continues to be turned to shoot out the bolt, and its position when the bolt is thrown out is such as to effectually prevent the removal of the plate H, from the outer key hole, as may be seen by an inspection of Figs. Band 5. A careful examination of the construction of the parts iov v key hole.

will show that there is no position in which the key may be left, when the lock is locked from the inside of the room, that will allow this plate H, to be removed from the outer It will also be observed that the key cannot be turned entirely around, so as to be withdrawn from the key hole; it is prevented by the stop z' on the end of the ledge t from going muc-h beyond the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5. After the lock is unlocked, as the key is brought into the position necessary to allow its withdrawal from the lock, it enters between theledges and g, and withdraws the plate H, so as to open the outer key hole. The parts are then in the position represented in Fig. 4 and the lock may be operated from either side as the case may require. It is diflicult to see how, when the lock is locked, an entrance can well be effected from the outside; but supposing this were possible there remains another serious difficulty to be overcome in working back the bolt, which is this: The bit of the key (as may be seen in Figs. 3 and 5) rests against an arm y' which forms a part of the bolt E, and projects downward from it, to act as a detent to prevent the return of the bolt, and could an opening be by any means effected through the plate H through which a pick or key might be int-roduced at the outer key hole, by which the tumblers and bolt might otherwise be operated, the arm j would when the key is in its present position, strike against it and prevent its withdrawal; and this obstacle receives additional importance from the fact that the inside key hole, and consequently the key when introduced through it, are removed so far from the outside key hole as to render it impracticable to introduce a pick through the outside of sufficient length of bit and of proper' form to turn the key and thereby release the bolt. The parts are represented in Figs. 3 and 5, in the position in which they would naturally be placed by the occupant of a room when locking his door for the night-if he locks his door at all, no negligence or ignorance of the construction of the lock is likely to cause him to leave this fastening insecure. It may be proper also to observe that when the lock has been locked from the outside it cannot be opened with the key from the inside, though this is generally a matter of minor importance.

Having thus fully described our said invention we do not claim to be the firstto in troduce a sliding plate to close the outer key hole, as this has already been done in several instances. Neither do we claim placing the outer and inner key holes in different transveise planes through the lock. Neither do we claim simply and broadly preventing the bolt or the plate H by some sort of detent from being slid back, as detents have been before used for this purpose.V

The particular improvements which constitute our said invention, and which we cla-im as having been originally and first invented by us, arel. The combination of the key with the Hangs L and plate H by which the key is made to operate as a detent to prevent the return of the plate H which covers the outer key hole as set forth.

2. The combination of the stop j upon the bolt, with the key, in such a manner that when the key is in the position represented in Figs. 3 and 5, thek stop y' will strike against the key and prevent the return of the bolt.

3. The stop z' in the flange h when combined with the key in the manner described, to prevent said key from being turned too far as above stated.

JOSEPH S. HOARD. VALORUS O. SPENCER.

lVitnesses A G. V. PUTMAN, WVM. D. KELLY. 

